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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Calla Wahlquist (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier)

Weak positive Covid result in Victoria; vaccination rollout could take rest of year – as it happened

Covid vaccine vial and syringe
Health department secretary Dr Brendan Murphy says the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine’s ‘first dose is fully protective’. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Summary

This is where we will leave things for today. This is how things stand:

Thanks for your company. We will see you in the morning.

Updated

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services have called for urgent action to end Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody, after three Indigenous people died in custody in one week.

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (Natsils) met today with representatives of 15 families who have had a loved one die in custody, and who are demanding a meeting with prime minister Scott Morrison.

It said:

We are horrified and deeply upset that there have been three Black deaths in custody in the past week. Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

On April 15, it will have been 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. We are extremely concerned that while our people continue to die in custody at alarming rates, Federal, state and territory governments have had the answers to end this injustice for 30 years but have chosen not to act. Governments have chosen not to prioritise saving Black lives.

30 years on from the Royal Commission, we call on governments to go beyond the empty gestures of the past, and to make sure that the legacy of every single person who has died in custody is honoured by ending this injustice for good. Our people have marched, we have raised our voices, we have participated in inquiry after inquiry, we have shared our stories and developed solutions. And yet governments are standing by while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are dying under their watch, in their prisons, police cells and during police pursuits.

They added:

Our thoughts are with the family of Nathan Reynolds, whose coronial findings handed down today found that his death was contributed to by deficiencies in management and inadequate emergency responses from Corrective Services. He should still be with his family and children today.

Updated

Victorian aged care resident returns weak positive Covid result, likely due to past infection, authorities say

A Victoria department of health spokeswoman told Guardian Australia a weak positive coronavirus test result has been returned from a previously positive resident at the privately run Epping Gardens Aged Care centre.

This was likely to be due to viral shedding rather than reinfection, she said.

While further test results are pending, precautionary public health actions have been put in place, including through the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre.

Guardian Australia has received reports the facility is in lockdown, and has contacted it for comment.

Updated

A Covid-19 check-in app used by many NSW businesses is experiencing an “unplanned outage”, the ABC reports.

Updated

It is 25 years to the day since the Howard government was sworn in.

It took me longer than I should admit to actually do the maths on this. Surely 1996 was only 15 years ago?? What is time??

Updated

Some more details have emerged about the Australian government’s opposition to a World Trade Organisation push to allow developing countries to manufacture and import cheap copies of licensed Covid-19 vaccines.

Ahead of a key WTO meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, the Guardian revealed that international aid groups, health organisations and unions have been pleading with the government to support the waiver proposal, which would suspend Covid vaccine patents for successful jab formulas invented by pharmaceutical giants for the duration of the pandemic.

More than 85 poor countries are not predicted to achieve widespread vaccination rollout before 2023, if at all, because of licensing rules and distribution limits that the World Health Organisation director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has labelled a “catastrophic moral failure”.

Tedros, writing in the Guardian, has also warned that the longer Covid-19 circulates and mutates in developing nations, the greater the chance more deadly and vaccine-resistant variants emerge that could stifle immunity in wealthy, well-vaccinated countries.

The proposal to waive the required 20-year patent right for medicines under the WTO’s agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights had the backing of 100 mostly low- and middle-income countries but pharmaceutical companies and governments in the US, UK and Europe are understood to be strongly opposed to the waiver.

Australia was part of a last-minute attempt, along with New Zealand and Canada, which urged the WTO to help individual countries negotiate with pharmaceutical companies. Australia’s position still supported forcing the poorer countries and those manufacturing the generic vaccines to pay for rights to formulas.

However, Reuters has reported that the waiver proposal was ultimately opposed by Britain, Switzerland, EU nations and the US – in part the result of the WTO’s consensus-based system, as opposed to a majority voting system.

Dr Patricia Ranald, convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, which urged the government to support the waiver earlier this week, told the Guardian:

It is remarkable in a forum like this when we’re talking about medicines and vaccine that will save peoples’ lives that six or eight countries can block it for them.

On Wednesday, the trade minister, Dan Tehan, when asked about Australia’s position, said:

We’ve got to make sure that there are some protections in place for the millions of dollars that has gone into the research to create these vaccines.

You can read more about the WTO proposal to waive patent rights for Covid-19 vaccines here:

Updated

A planned burn in Tasmania’s Styx Valley that has broken containment lines is burning close to World Heritage-listed forest.

AAP reports that the fire, which was lit by forestry authorities on Saturday following logging operations, has been burning out of control since Wednesday in gusty winds.

Emergency services have issued a smoke and ash warning for people in the area around New Norfolk, Bushy Park, Westerway and Gretna.

The fire has burnt 130ha of forest and is within 4km of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

Firefighting crews, bulldozers and helicopters are trying to contain the blaze before Friday, when winds are predicted to increase and the temperature is tipped to reach 27C.

Former Greens senator Dr Bob Brown has described the planned burns as “institutionalised vandalism”.

He said:

They drop napalm-like material from helicopters to create a firestorm.

Brown has called for a police investigation into the blaze.

If a tourist operator was responsible for this fire they would lose their licence.

Sustainable Timber Tasmania manager Dean Sheehan said new containment lines had been cut and crews were working to bring the fire under control.

An operational review will be undertaken by Sustainable Timber Tasmania to understand and learn from the burn.

The Styx area is renowned for its giant ash trees and was added to the state’s forest reserve system in 2013.

Updated

Indigenous leaders have accused the Australian Capital Territory of trying to cover up the alleged forcible strip-searching of a sexual assault survivor by having footage of the episode suppressed.

On Wednesday the ACT government sent lawyers to the bail hearing of a 37-year-old Indigenous woman, who alleges she was forcibly strip-searched by guards in full riot gear in the territory’s jail, the Alexander Maconochie centre, this year.

The government’s lawyers successfully argued to have footage of the strip-searching kept from public view, saying it may cause reprisal attacks on the guards.

The woman, meanwhile, has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder allegedly as a result of the ordeal. She has a serious heart condition, of which prison authorities were forewarned, and was stripped in front of male detainees, despite being a sexual assault survivor.

Aboriginal man died from asthma attack after ‘unreasonably delayed’ response from prison staffRead more

Guardian Australia understands that the woman wants the footage made public.

Read more:

Brace yourself, New South Welshmen. Heavy rainfall and hailstones incoming.

Western Australian premier Mark McGowan is campaigning in Kalgoorlie today.

The state election is just two days away. And you can tell it’s close, because McGowan has been photographed holding an unimpressed baby.

Mark McGowan with the tot in Kalgoorlie
Mark McGowan presses the flesh. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Another baby.

Mark McGowan talks to members of the public outside an early voting centre in Kalgoorlie
Delicately touch baby on forehead to encourage parents to vote Labor... Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

No baby, but a terrifyingly small plane.

McGowan (right) with his chief of staff, Guy Houston, on a flight from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie.
McGowan (right) with his chief of staff, Guy Houston, on a flight from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Updated

Some navy personnel had 'mild side-effects' from Covid vaccine

The Department of Defence has confirmed some members of HMAS Sydney experienced “mild side-effects” after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The ABC reported on Thursday that crew members were admitted to St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney as a precaution after experiencing side-effects from the vaccine.

In a statement, the department said no members of the ship are currently in hospital, but would not comment on whether any crew had previously been admitted.

A department spokesperson said:

The ship’s company of Sydney voluntarily received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine ahead of a deployment to North America.

Sydney sailed this morning with a full crew.

In accordance with Department of Health guidelines, members of the ship’s company were encouraged to report to medical personnel if they were feeling unwell after their vaccination. Some members experienced mild side-effects, which were resolved shortly after reporting.

It is not unusual to experience mild side-effects after any vaccination. Serious allergic reactions are rare.

A Covid vaccine vial and syringe
Some navy personnel experience ‘mild side-effects’ after receiving a Covid vaccine, the defence department said. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

An update on Victoria’s progress on the vaccination rollout.

Health authorities administered 3,984 doses yesterday – that’s an increase of more than 1,000 on yesterday, so well done. Total number of doses administered is up to 22,317.

The health department said:

Plans are progressing for a high-volume vaccination centre located within the former Ford factory in Geelong to be managed by Barwon Health. The commencement date of this site and others will depend on vaccine supply and priority groups assigned by the Commonwealth.

Queensland’s proposed treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has taken another step forward with the first meeting of the advancement committee this week.

More from AAP:

The committee is charged with developing options and giving independent advice in what the government says is a vital role on its path to a treaty.

The state has also committed to a “truth telling and healing” process, the importance of which was underscored by the minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships, Craig Crawford.

He said:

We shouldn’t underestimate how important the truth-telling part of this journey will be to healing the wounds that have accrued over 250 years of recent history.

Children who were stolen were stripped of their connection to family, land, culture and language. Taken to homes and institutions, many suffered abuse and neglect. There can be no greater suffering for a parent than the loss of a child.

The Treaty Advancement Committee is co-chaired by Bidjara/Birri Gubba Juru woman Jackie Huggins and Ghungalu man Mick Gooda.

The other members are Michael Lavarch, Josephine Bourne and Sallyanne Atkinson.

Crawford said:

I particularly want to acknowledge Dr Huggins and Mr Gooda, both of whom are well known for their commitment and advocacy for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over many years.

The committee held its first meeting this week and will play a vital role in continuing the momentum of our Path to Treaty process.

Updated

Labor attacks Bronnie Taylor over grant

The grasslands saga just refuses to die for the Taylor family.

A $107,000 grant to Monaro Farming Systems – a company which is linked to Federal MP Angus Taylor’s brother, Richard – has prompted a sharp exchange in NSW estimates as another Taylor – upper house MP Bronnie Taylor – faced questions about whether she had any involvement in securing the money.

Guardian Australia reported a fortnight ago that NSW Local Land Services’ head office had awarded the grant to Monaro Farming Systems without the farming co-operative actually having applied for it.

The work done using the grant was then used to lobby for a change in federal and state laws protecting native grasslands. At the time a company, Jam Land, in which Richard, Angus and Bronnie have links, was facing prosecution for illegal clearing of the critically endangered ecological community.

An outraged Bronnie Taylor accused Labor’s environment spokeswoman, Penny Sharpe, of seeking to “slur and sully my family”.

Labor had been attacking her since the day she arrived in parliament, she said, including using nicknames such as Hyacinth Bouquet, a reference to the main character in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances.

But answers about her involvement, if any, in the grant weren’t forthcoming.

Taylor revealed that because her brother-in-law Richard was a member of Monaro Farming Systems, all family members were entitled to take part as members.

This potentially gives her a pecuniary interest in MFS, though she insisted she had properly declared all her interests on the register.

Taylor said:

They are an eminent farming body covering 70% of landowners on the Monaro.

But as for Sharpe’s central question of whether Taylor had lobbied any current and former ministers for the grant, we are none the wiser.

A visibly angry Taylor told Sharpe several times that the question was “disrespectful of her family” and invited her to instead ask her questions about her portfolio .

Bronnie Taylor
Bronnie Taylor. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Updated

The department of social services, in a response to a question on notice to a senate inquiry, says it “is not possible” for it to determine, in the timeframe provided by the inquiry, how many people are affected by changes to partner income tests which will come into effect at the end of the month.

As Luke Henriques-Gomes notes, this feels like an analysis they should already have done.

People with Disability Australia’s president, Samantha Connor, said a proposal to require NDIS participants to undergo a mandatory medical assessment from a health professional chosen by government “has the potential to cause serious adverse outcomes for disabled people”.

Not only are they planning to use untested assessment tools and strangers to assess extremely complex people in a very short period of time, they’re also planning to fundamentally alter the way that the NDIS was intended to work.

The NDIS was always intended to consider our lives and needs rather than just our impairments – the changes they want to bring in are designed to reduce supports and remove funding from a group of people who are already living in crisis.

People with Disabilities Australia is one of 20 disability sector organizations which wrote to government in opposition to the plan.

Connor said it often took people a long time to get a medical team which understands their needs. One PWDA member said in response to a survey in October:

I have multiple disabilities and chronic health conditions,” said one member in a survey response.

It has taken a long time to curate a medical team who understand me and who work with me in the way I need…my conditions fluctuate and this cannot be judged appropriately with one observation session.

I am fearful of strangers making decisions about my livelihood without understanding my history and personal challenges.

Minister Stuart Robert earlier defended the change because it had been recommended by the Productivity Commission, saying the government had previously been criticised for not doing exactly what the Productivity Commission said in relation to the NDIS.

Updated

The cruise ship industry is, remarkably, still going strong.

Oceania cruises has just announced it has recorded the most bookings ever taken in a single day in its 18-year history, after announcing its new winter 2022-2023 itineraries.

The “tropics and exotics” collection of cruises includes destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Antarctica, and the South Pacific. The best-selling voyage was a 35-day circumnavigation of Australia.

Will be interesting to see the state of Australia’s border controls in 2022.

The Australian Greens have called on the federal government to support a World Trade Organisation proposal to waive intellectual property provisions on Covid-19 vaccines to allow it to be made available and affordable to all nations.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:

This is a matter of global justice, and putting people before the profits of enormous pharmaceutical companies.

The Covid-19 vaccine is a public good, not a commodity, and access to healthcare is a human right.

It would be unconscionable – and highly self-defeating – for Australia to allow the Covid-19 pandemic to roll on in the Global South all to the benefit of big pharma.

All the Global South countries are asking for is to be given access to intellectual property allowing for research, manufacture and supply of vaccines without risking a trade dispute.

Refusing this will allow pharmaceutical giants to shake down nations that are already struggling under huge debt burdens and the legacy of colonialism. If they can’t pay or take on more debt, then Australia has condemned them to years of lockdowns, social injustice, sickness and death.

Updated

The former Liberal leader John Hewson has added his voice to calls for the government to abandon a controversial plan to introduce independent assessments to the NDIS.

This morning we reported on the concerns of a coalition of 20 disability organisations that fear the change is aimed at cutting costs.

The NDIS minister, Stuart Robert, responded today that the government has no intention to halt the roll out of the mandatory assessments, which are slated to begin in the middle of the year.

But Hewson says the government should “rethink” the reform.

Updated

Western Australian treasurer Ben Wyatt has just addressed the media in Perth, for the sole purpose of telling everyone how bad Zak Kirkup’s press conference was.

Kirkup, you’ll recall, addressed the media a short time ago about the Liberal party costings and it was ... not the clearest press conference. One thing that was clear was that some of the Liberal party’s stated priorities, like providing immediate support to small business, weren’t costed.

Wyatt said:

I think what that performance shows is that the inexperience and risk of the Liberal party was on full display. There have been very few press conferences that would confirm that so much. And I say to any West Australian, I invite you to watch that press conference with the shadow treasurer and the leader of the opposition and David Honey, the shadow minister – see for yourself.

This party is not worth the risk and this is the party that is saying to West Australians: give us the power veto over any future government. I think anyone watching that would be very unlikely to want these guys in charge of any part of the parliament.

The WA election is on Saturday. You can read Perth-based reporter Narelle Towie’s analysis of the Liberal party’s chances here. Spoiler: they’re not great.

Updated

October deadline for vaccinating all Australians refers to first dose only, Brendan Murphy says

Labor senators are probing health department officials about Scott Morrison, Greg Hunt and the government’s commitment that Australian adults would be “fully vaccinated” by October.

In fact, health department secretary Brendan Murphy’s evidence today is that every adult will have received the first dose of AstraZeneca, but maybe not everyone will have had the second dose. Is that a contradiction?

Murphy:

I said vaccinated by the end of October because every Australian adult will be offered a vaccine by the end of October. If a small number haven’t had their second AstraZeneca, that doesn’t really matter, they are fully protected by the first dose. It is entirely consistent with what the prime minister and minister have said in the media.

Asked if “fully vaccinated” meant two doses, Murphy replied:

... to complete the program [yes], but in terms of protection the first dose is fully protective.

There is full population coverage in terms of offering a vaccine. It’s a semantic debate.

The original October deadline was set when the best advice was that AstraZeneca doses should be given four weeks apart, but the advice changed that a 12-week gap makes it most effective.

Caroline Edwards, from the health department, said the government was still aiming to vaccinate everyone by the end of October.

She said:

We are still planning and hoping to have both shots by the end of October. In the event that we didn’t get all shots by the end of October, the second shot would be finished six weeks after the end of October.

Which would put us in December.

Brendan Murphy
Brendan Murphy: ‘In terms of protection the first dose is fully protective.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

The head of Asio has called for universities to be given more clarity about which research or technologies the government considers particularly sensitive, conceding there is “ambiguity” at present.

At a hearing into national security risks in the education sector, Mike Burgess said Asio had had about 60 interactions with universities last year. That included universities reaching out to Asio to seek advice.

Burgess told the intelligence committee the prime minister’s department and home affairs were currently working on ways to explain the types of research that required additional risk management.

The starting point for that would be us being clear about what is sensitive and what is not, and I would acknowledge there is some ambiguity there at this stage which is unhelpful to researchers, students and research organisations.

A committee member asked how many countries Asio was concerned about, in regard to the targeting of tertiary and research organisations and attempts to secure intellectual property. The spy chief replied:

I generally don’t like giving numbers but it’s way more than one but it’s less than 10, in terms of countries we currently worry about, but that can change.

Victorian tourism minister Martin Pakula says he’s disappointed by the federal government’s half-price flight initiative, which does not cover most of the state.

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has suggested the flight package is targeted in marginal electorates.

For example, Avalon airport, near Geelong, is in Corangamite, held by Labor’s Libby Coker on a margin of just over 1%.

Updated

Western Australian opposition leader Zak Kirkup is talking to reporters in Perth about the costings for the Liberal party policies. In case you missed it earlier, Kirkup, who already said he does not think his party will win, last night said he would likely quit politics if he loses his seat of Dawesville.

Given there are just 300 votes between him and defeat, and there’s a swing on toward Labor, it’s not an empty threat.

This costing presentation ... is not going well. For example, Kirkup said small business needed immediate assistance, but there’s nothing in the Liberal party policy book on that beyond providing payroll tax relief.

Kirkup said:

We’ve asked the government time and time again to provide for assistance for our small and family businesses who have been impacted by the lockdown. At this point in time, the government has shown no appetite for that. We continue to call on them to do that.

So, the Liberal party is offering zero immediate support for small businesses?

At this point in time we’ve called on the government to provide that assistance. We haven’t called on them to provide anything other than important payroll tax and the like. Calling on the government is an important part to make sure they respond to help those small businesses who’ve been affected by the lockdown.

A reporter asks what was the point of the costing exercise, given Kirkup has already conceded the election.

He replies:

I think it is important to provide the people of Western Australia an understanding that Liberal party plans are costed and considered for the long-term future. This is exactly what we’d like the Labor party to take onboard. Let’s use our plan for recruiting 1,200 new places in Western Australia.

If the Labor party took that on, we would happily support that and do whatever we can. If the Labor party doesn’t want to take that on, what we’re saying to the people of Australia is we’ll support and fight to get 1,200 new places recruited in Western Australia to help keep people safe.

Updated

Addressing national security risks at universities “doesn’t have to come at the expense of academic freedom”, the head of Australian spy agency Asio has told an inquiry.

Mike Burgess, the director general of security, is addressing the intelligence committee this afternoon. He said Australia was currently facing a heightened threat of foreign interference and espionage.

Burgess said China’s Thousand Talents plan - an academic recruitment program - was not, in and of itself, concerning. He said Asio’s focus was where a foreign government used clandestine means to obtain Australian research.

It is the intent and character of the activity that matters.

Burgess said most people had a good understanding of was espionage involved, but foreign interference was “less well understood”.

Foreign interference was different from foreign influence. On the latter point, he said all states sought to influence – and that was acceptable when it was done openly and transparently.

Burgess said foreign interference involved clandestine or deceptive actions conducted on behalf of foreign power to affect political process or that was otherwise detrimental to Australia’s interests.

He said Asio was aware of foreign intelligence services and their proxies seeking to develop relationships with academics. In some cases, he said, foreign interference could extend to the threat of physical harm.

He said Asio would be concerned “if a foreign government is active behind the scenes trying to covertly shut down” free speech in Australia, in reference to protests.

Burgess was asked whether the threat was overwhelmingly from one country. He said:

I would characterise it as more than one country. One country in particular is highly active but they are not alone in that endeavour.

Updated

Labor has called on the federal government to extend Medicare provisions for telehealth, which were introduced at the start of the pandemic last year.

Health minister Greg Hunt said in November that telehealth would become “a permanent part of the Medicare system,” but Labor’s health spokesman, Mark Butler, said those arrangements will end on 31 March, with no formal announcement, at this stage, about their extension.

Telehealth has played a critically important role in managing Australians’ physical and mental health during the pandemic – especially for those in regional and remote communities.

Scott Morrison as acting health minister must urgently extend the telehealth measures.

The Australian Medical Association is also calling for the extension, with president Dr Omar Khorshid saying:

The current uncertainty over the future of temporary Covid-19 Medicare telehealth items means that patients and practices can’t plan consultations beyond the end of this month, even though we are still in the middle of the pandemic.

Khorshid said ending the temporary arrangements in three weeks would be “premature”.

Updated

Class action launched over Cudlee Creek bushfire

A class action seeking an estimated $150 million in damages has been launched on behalf of hundreds of victims of the bushfire that raged through the Adelaide Hills in December 2019.

AAP reports that the class action was filed in the South Australian supreme court on Monday by Maddens lawyers.

It will argue that power company SA Power Networks should have done more to ensure its protection devices responded immediately to any faults on its network.

Senior counsel Brendan Pendergast said the claim argues the company should have ensured those devices, which could de-energize a powerline brought down by a falling tree, to their most sensitive settings.

“They had the ability and the capacity to do that and one wonders if you don’t make that adjustment on the fourth successive catastrophic bushfire day in the Adelaide Hills, when do you instigate that capacity,” he said.

The 23,000-hectare blaze, which destroyed almost 100 homes and damaged hundreds of other buildings and vehicles, also claimed one life with the body of a man found in his burnt-out home in the small town of Charleston.

Known as the Cudlee Creek fire, it was sparked when a large pine tree fell on high-voltage conductors.

One of the live conductors then came into contact with a wire fence and the ground, igniting the blaze.

A state government investigation found the tree was beyond the prescribed clearance zone and that its failure could not have been identified before the event.

Pendergast said his firm had made contact with about 50 victims, but with the claim operating on an “opt out” basis it could involve up to 1000 people.

He said there was broad-based community support for the class action and he believed the case was a strong one.

Lead plaintiff Kris Thrower, who lost his house and most of his possessions, said the fire changed his life and the life of his family forever.

“I worked so hard to establish myself and now I’ve stepped back all the way to zero with absolutely nothing,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

“It still gives me nightmares. I’d like to think that someone is held accountable for the devastation to my life, my family’s life, the environment around us and all the animals that perished.

“Mentally, I’m anxious. I used to be one of the calmest people I know, now every day I’m looking on the horizon for a fire.

“It changes you. My life has been flipped upside down and I personally don’t have any closure on it.”

In a statement to AAP, SA Power Networks said while it had not yet seen the detail of the claim, it would defend its actions.

“An independent government report concluded the fire start was due to a tree falling from outside the clearance zone and that SA Power Networks had acted in accord with its bushfire and vegetation management procedures and equipment settings,” the company said.

Health department does not have an 'exact date' for all Australians being vaccinated

The chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, has revealed he is notified of “serious” adverse events related to the vaccine, but it’s so far so good.

He said:

There have been a few cases of anaphylaxis. There have been some deaths following immunisation but not related to immunisation.

[But] nothing unusual. The majority have been those consistent with clinical trial and real world data ... We’ve seen three cases of severe allergic reactions, but they were handled expertly and quickly, with no ongoing adverse effects.

Other adverse events are relatively minor and include pain at the injection site, some fever, body pain, headache, Kelly said, but “nothing untoward”.

Brendan Murphy said the first major “clinical milestone” will be when phases 1A and 1B are complete, when all “vulnerable Australians” are vaccinated. But health department officials can’t say when 4m Australians will be vaccinated, after Murphy signalled it will miss the original end-of-March timeline

Labor’s Katy Gallagher asks whether the October timeline means everyone will have had one or both of the AstraZeneca doses – which are ideally spaced 12 weeks apart – by that date.

Murphy said the October timeline is to have delivered the first dose, which is already “very effective” by itself.

As Gallagher notes, this contradicts the department of prime minister and cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens’ evidence that the target relates to people having both doses. Murphy said this will be difficult.

Murphy said:

We haven’t got an exact date. We’re remodelling.

Australia would have to be “more than certain” before naming any particular country as responsible for a cyber attack, officials have told a parliamentary inquiry into higher education security risks.

Earlier today there was a discussion about hack on the Australian National University in 2018, and officials had said the government had not made a determination about who was responsible for that sophisticated attack. The chair of the intelligence committee, James Paterson, returned to the topic before the lunch break, pointing officials to a 2019 media report that cited unnamed sources as saying China was the key suspect.

Marc Ablong, a deputy secretary at the Department of Home Affairs with responsibility for national resilience and cyber security, cautioned that just because it was reported in the newspaper, it did not mean it reflected an official judgment. He said the government “haven’t made a judgment about that yet, and nor will we”.

Regarding attribution, Ablong said that “to the degree that we can legally prove in an evidentiary sense that it is a particular organisation is a very big challenge”.

Paterson asked to what degree a legal level of proof was required in such cases, adding:

I’m not too concerned about the human rights of the state actors accused of these kinds of cyber attacks.

Ablong replied:

You have to be more than reasonably sure. It’s not a balance of probability effort – you need to be more than certain that you know who the actor is before you name them.

Ablong noted there were “consequences” for naming, not just for the country that was publicly named but also for the country that made such an attribution publicly. He said there were “so many tools to obfuscate where you are and what you are doing” that efforts to attribute cyber intrusions “can only get so far”.

Western Australia has recorded one new case of Covid-19 in hotel quarantine, and none in the community.

The new case is a woman in her 40s.

Authorities in WA also vaccinated 2,071 people yesterday, bringing the total number of people in the state to get their first dose to 13,498.

Prof Brendan Murphy: Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are 'equally efficacious'

The health department secretary, Brendan Murphy, has begun his evidence to the Covid committee with a full-throated defence of Australia’s vaccine policy.

Murphy said:

A point I would like to make: the real world data from the UK, which has widespread experience with both vaccines [Pfizer and AstraZeneca] is that both are equally efficacious. There is no difference between their efficacy. Both are incredibly effective at prevent severe Covid, hospitalisation and death. I would like to publicly say the unfortunate narrative that one vaccine is a little bit better is now dead: we have two good vaccines. They are interchangeable, both work in elderly and other age groups. Both have a greater efficacy than the annual flu vaccine.

Murphy notes that from late March Australia will have its own domestically produced supply of 1m doses per week of AstraZeneca.

He reiterates the government aims is to vaccinate all adults by October - but the plan is “dynamic and flexible” and responds to circumstances including logistics challenges.

Updated

A New Zealand minister has backtracked on comments he made this morning about Australia deporting New Zealand citizens convicted of criminal offences, saying Australia was “exporting its garbage” to New Zealand.

NZ’s Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, made the comments on his way into parliament this morning, saying:

This is Australia exporting its garbage to New Zealand. Their criminal offending has been in Australia ... many of them have lived the vast bulk of their lives in Australia. This is a deplorable move by the Australian government which we completely disagree with. However, having said that, they are entitled to do it.

Hipkins did not start the metaphor of referring to deported New Zealand citizens as trash — that was Australia’s own Peter Dutton. Are you surprised? No, me neither.

Dutton described a planeload of deportees sent to New Zealand as “trash”.

Hipkins said his comments were intended as a criticism of Dutton’s language, not the New Zealand citizens themselves. But he quickly apologised, saying he realised it sounded like he agreed with Dutton.

He told NewsHub:

I am just reflecting that question that I was asked. If that is Peter Dutton’s view of it, then he is exporting his rubbish to New Zealand ...

I didn’t mean to suggest that that is what I am calling them. Those are Peter Dutton’s words, not my words. Those are not my words; those are Peter Dutton’s words. If he is describing them that way, then he is saying Australia is deporting its rubbish to New Zealand.

Updated

Flight Centre boss: tourism package won't 'save many jobs at all'

Some more details are beginning to emerge about how Australians can buy the half-price flights announced by the government.

Graham Turner, the Flight Centre founder and chief executive, has told Guardian Australia that airlines have indicated to him that they intend to distribute the flights among travel agents, and won’t require bookings to be made directly on their websites.

However, speaking more broadly about the package, Turner said that the regional focus of the initiative meant it would only have “a fairly small positive impact on tourism”.

He said he doesn’t believe the package will “save many jobs at all” after the jobkeeper cut-off at the end of the month, noting that Flight Centre has already lost 70% of its Australian staff since the beginning of the pandemic.

Turner said the key to the industry’s strength would be state borders remaining open, but he also called on the government to reopen international borders by July when older and vulnerable Australians are vaccinated.

You can read more about the tourism sector’s reaction to the package here:

Updated

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has, unsurprisingly, also slammed the Morrison government’s $1m tourism program, saying it will not directly support jobs.

Jobkeeper was a result of discussions with unions and has been keeping aviation workers afloat, the ACTU said. The new tourism package is the result of the Morrison government talking directly to the heads of Qantas.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said:

The Morrison government has returned to trickle-down economics, where there are no protections or guarantees for jobs – just hope employers will do the right thing.

Almost 90 per cent of aviation workers’ jobs are still affected by the pandemic. We should keep the jobkeeper scheme that has worked very well for the past year and has proven fit-for-purpose. It is the most successful job-saving scheme in our country’s history.

This package will not help workers, it contains no obligation on employers to keep workers employed, it won’t even be seen by them. This package will just line the pockets of employers, who’ve proven that they can’t be trusted to use taxpayers’ money to support their employees.

Domestic travel is poised to make a comeback. It would give certainty and security to workers, if the Morrison government implemented a full-scale continuation of jobkeeper for industries and sectors where it is still needed, rather than throwing money at some of the best-paid executives in the world.

Updated

As 20 disability groups hold a briefing for MPs on a controversial plan to introduce “independent assessments” to the NDIS, the minister, Stuart Robert, has been spruiking the changes in Tasmania.

Robert released data on Thursday showing there were significant discrepancies between the average plan packages by electorate. The government argues the assessments will create more consistent outcomes.

Currently, people submit reports gathered from their specialists, but under the new policy, applicants will undergo a three-hour assessment from an allied health professional they don’t know, contracted by the government. Critics fear the assessments will not accurately capture a person’s disability, and are aimed at cutting costs.

The disability groups on Thursday called for the rollout of the assessments – due to start mid-year – to be halted.

Robert said there was no plan to do that on Thursday:

Not at all, because it’s recommended by the Productivity Commission. Everyone welcomed the scheme when it was rolled out in 2013 [but] saying no, we need to build what the Productivity Commission recommended. That included the independent assessments. And as we have now got to the full scheme, now is the time to do the last piece of the build. We’re now on the second trial of independent assessments, the first one starting in 2018. We’ll continue to engage strongly with the sector, as we have all the time.

Updated

Aboriginal man Nathan Reynolds 'deprived some chance of surviving' due to delayed response by prison officers

Anaiwan-Dunghutti man Nathan Reynolds died in custody after a “confused, uncoordinated and unreasonably delayed” response by prison staff to his asthma attack, a NSW coroner has found.

In findings handed down today, coroner Elizabeth Ryan said:

The delay deprived Nathan of at least some chance of surviving his acute asthma attack. These failures were due both to numerous system deficiencies and to individual errors of judgement.

More on this tragic case by Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam, here:

Thanks to Matilda for taking us through the morning’s news.

The Australia Institute has slammed the federal government’s announcement of support for the tourism sector, accusing the government of being “economically reckless” with the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Matt Grundoff, a senior economist at the Australia Institute, said:

The government’s announced support for the tourism sector will not come close to filling the gap caused by the end of jobkeeper. While jobkeeper is currently being paid at about $5 billion per month, the tourism package is a mere $1.2 billion over 6 months, or $200 million per month.

This reduction in government stimulus means less demand and fewer jobs than would otherwise be the case if the government had not withdrawn jobkeeper.

The end of jobkeeper will see more people lose their jobs at a time when the economic recovery is just beginning. Worse, these newly unemployed people will be forced on to unemployment payments at the same time that the government has cut jobseeker by $100 per fortnight.

The government is being economically reckless with the recovery. Economic recoveries are fragile and withdrawing stimulus too early can see a vicious cycle occur where less demand in the economy leads to growing unemployment, in turn fuelling further reductions in demand and employment.

The government needs to be certain about the continuation of the recovery before considering the withdrawal of jobkeeper stimulus.

Updated

You know what? I think that’s all I can take today (that and it’s time for me to go make a Guardian Australia TikTok), so I shall hand you over the delightful Calla Wahlquist to guide you through the afternoon.

Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath has downplayed the code yellow alert at Cairns hospital as they struggle to accommodate five Covid-positive returned travellers.

The far north Queensland facility declared its first code yellow in more than 18 months on Wednesday after a small influx of infected people arrived from Papua New Guinea but D’Ath dismissed concerns, saying this simply allows authorities to move resources around to meet high demand.

She spoke today about the hospital in parliament:

The declaration of a code yellow is not something the community needs to be alarmed about.

In the last week, a number of metro north hospitals experienced brief periods on code yellow. Cairns hospital was placed on code yellow yesterday amid unprecedented demand.

D’Ath said 263 people presented at Cairns hospital’s emergency department on Thursday - just short of the record of 280 - but many of the patients did not actually require emergency treatment.

Many of these cases can be more effectively managed in non-emergency settings ...

Too often we are finding that people are turning to the local emergency department for medical care that could be provided by our excellent local general practitioners.

The number of active Covid-19 cases in the state rose to 41 on Thursday, up from 37 on Wednesday, all in hospital or hotel quarantine.

D’Ath said 1,993 people received their first vaccine dose from one of the state’s 17 hubs in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday, taking the total number of people jabbed in the state to 13,989.

Updated

Australian officials have stopped short of attributing blame for the cyber attack on the Australian National University in 2018 but have told an inquiry at least five countries have the capability to have done so.

Marc Ablong, a deputy secretary at the Department of Home Affairs with responsibility for national resilience and cyber security, said officials were also aware of a much more recent cyber attack on Melbourne’s RMIT university “and there are investigations under way”.

Ablong was among officials giving evidence to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, which is investigating national security risks to the higher education and research sector.

While there has been speculation that China may have been behind the ANU hack, Ablong made clear that the government had not attributed blame it to any particular country.

He said the ANU cyber attack was conducted by “an advanced threat actor”, nothing that there were a number of “state actors” and highly sophisticated criminal groups that had the ability and intent to carry out such attacks.

“There are at least five different state actors that have got that level of capability, and criminal enterprises are becoming more sophisticated in their capabilities,” Ablong said, without naming those countries.

It can often take a great many months if not years to go through at a very forensic level to be able to identify and lawfully prove who the actor is.

Speaking more generally, Ablong said the cyber security risks to higher education and other organisations was increasing.

The threat is very real, it is getting a lot realer and a lot harder, even for very sophisticated organisations ... The sophistication and ability of either states or criminal organisations to undertake cyber hacks is very real and it is only going to get worse.

Updated

Qantas says its airline brands will offer up to 32,000 government airfares per week, as the company celebrates the aviation-heavy tourism rescue package.

Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, are among the companies to be offering flights at 50 per cent of median prices to 12 key regional destinations between May and July after the government committed $1.2 billion in subsidies and support payments to boost interstate travel.

Prime minister Scott Morrison with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during an aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport, 11 March, 2021.
Prime minister Scott Morrison with Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during an aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport, 11 March, 2021. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce spoke at the press conference this morning but has since released an official statement:

With the vaccine rollout now giving more certainty that state borders will stay open, this is the perfect time to provide stimulus and get people travelling domestically again, particularly given there won’t be any international tourists for another seven months.

Qantas says the special fares will go on sale 1 April.

Updated

Annette Kimmitt has left MinterEllison, the legal firm has confirmed.

Staff at one of Australia’s largest firms were sent an email at 9.57pm on Wednesday that confirmed Kimmitt, the chief executive officer, would be leaving immediately, following a firestorm over its representation of attorney general Christian Porter.

The email sent by chairman David O’Brien to all staff on Wednesday night said:

I am writing to let you know that we have mutually agreed with Annette Kimmitt, our Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of the firm since 2018, that she will leave the firm on 10 March 2021.

Virginia Briggs will be our Acting Chief Executive Officer whilst the Board considers who will become our new CEO. Virginia brings experience and skills to the role being the Managing Partner, Infrastructure Construction & Property, and a long-time member of the Firm’s Executive Leadership Team.

We have thanked Annette for her years of service and dedication and wished her well for the future.

During her time at Minter Ellison, among her many achievements, Annette led our Firm successfully through the pandemic for which we are most grateful. We look forward to continuing with our 2025 vision, putting our clients, communities and people at the heart of all that we do.

Updated

Albanese has slammed the government for the slow start to the vaccine rollout.

Originally Morrison said the aim was to vaccinate 4 million people by March, but this seems pretty out of the question at this point.

The fact that they’re on 100,000, it is now March 11, they have just a few weeks to deliver 3.9 million vaccinations.

Now this isn’t a target that was set by anyone other than this government but this government is defined by the fact that for them it’s the announcement that matters, not the delivery.

Now in fairness to the government, I think that 100,000 number was from Tuesday. I’ll see if I can get an updated one for you.

Updated

Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese says the government’s new tourism support package is being used as an attempt to win over marginal seats.

What this government did, what they do with sports rorts, what they do with community safety grants, what they do with today’s announcements is they always look at one thing and it’s not who needs support the most.

It’s not regional economic development ... it is the electoral map ...

In Tasmania, northern Tasmania gets support, southern Tasmania not. I wonder what the distinction is between the two. It is called the two marginal seats are in northern Tasmania. In the Northern Territory, Darwin nothing, but of course Alice Springs and Uluru where in the seat of Lingiari, gets support.

Albanese also criticised the package’s focus on airlines.

This isn’t a tourism package. It is a selective aviation package. There is nothing in this package for hotel operators.

There is nothing in this package for those people, for example, who are tourism operators who will take people out on day trips, who will examine the benefit that is here in this region, whether it be the surf coast, the Great Ocean Road, the Otways, there is nothing in this package for tourism operators.

Updated

Zak Kirkup won't return to politics if ousted on Saturday

WA opposition leader Zak Kirkup has said he will not return to politics if he does not retain his marginal seat in the upcoming state election.

He spoke to ABC yesterday:

If I am not returned to Dawesville I don’t think I would return to politics.

This is my home and the community that I love ... and I have a privilege of representing.

If I am not returned here ... I’m not going to continue in the political arena. I think that is my time.

Dawesville is the second most marginal seat in the state.

This comes just two weeks after publically admitting that he had no shot of winning the upcoming WA election two weeks away.

I think the man maybe needs a stiff drink or two.

WA opposition Leader Zak Kirkup on Tuesday, 2 March 2021.
WA opposition Leader Zak Kirkup on Tuesday, 2 March 2021. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Updated

This probably goes without saying, but no Covid-19 in Canberra.

I hate this. Thanks.

The opposition leader Anthony Albanese will front media soon, likely with a response to this new $1.2bn travel industry support package just announced by the federal government.

Updated

Reporter Nino Bucci will bring us more on this soon.

NSW has recorded no local Covid-19 cases today, I believe that makes it 53 days since there was a case outside hotel quarantine.

Updated

An amazing read here from Nick Evershed, Michael McGowan and Andy Ball.

They dive into how Facebook has played a key role in the global spread of misinformation during the pandemic. And explain how an individual post can reach a global audience within days.

Check it out here:

Okay I can’t let this go, I have to share with you some of the truly surreal photos of our prime minister from this morning’s press events.

We have “Scott the Pilot”:

Prime minister Scott Morrison and Qantas pilot Captain Debbie Slade at Sydney airport this morning.
Prime minister Scott Morrison and Qantas pilot Captain Debbie Slade at Sydney airport this morning. Photograph: Dylan Coker/AAP

“Tipping the hat” Scott:

Prime Minister Scott Morrison poses for a photograph in the cockpit of an Airbus A330.
Prime minister Scott Morrison poses for a photograph in the cockpit of an Airbus A330. Photograph: Dylan Coker/AAP

“About to get sucked into the giant turbine engine” Scott:

Prime minister Scott Morrison with airline staff.
Prime minister Scott Morrison with airline staff. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

“Please don’t touch the plane” Scott:

Prime minister Scott Morrison and deputy PM Michael McCormack.
Prime minister Scott Morrison and deputy PM Michael McCormack. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

And finally, we have “You don’t have a commercial aviation licence, get out of there!” Scott:

Prime minister Scott Morrison in the cockpit of a Qantas airliner.
Prime minister Scott Morrison in the cockpit of a Qantas airliner. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Amazing stuff.

Updated

Whoops! One last Covid-19 restriction to ease in Queensland.

Covid-19 'code yellow' emergency at Cairns hospital

Covid cases have put Cairns hospital under extreme pressure.

An influx of Covid-19 patients from Papua New Guinea has sparked a “code yellow” emergency at the Cairns hospital, the ABC reports.

The internal emergency declaration triggers strategies to help the hospital cope when it nears capacity.

The six Covid-19 patients are all being treated in isolation, and came from hotel quarantine.

But the specialised care they need, combined with a record 263 emergency department presentations last weekend, means the hospital is under significant pressure.

Cairns and Hinterland hospital and Health Service executive director Don Mackie spoke to the ABC:

Six or seven beds doesn’t sound like a lot but they are in specific areas, they are in highly specialised negative pressure rooms that reduce the risk of cross-infection...

It impinges on the other functions of the hospital.

Some non-urgent elective surgery procedures have been postponed.

Updated

Restrictions to ease in Queensland from Saturday

The Queensland premier has some news so that means her team might have jumped on Canva.com and created a choice social media announcement tile. (This might just be me, but I’m obsessed with Palaszczuk’s many forays into graphic design).

Palaszcuzk has announced that from 1am on Saturday, 13 March the state’s Covid-19 restrictions will ease further.

Gatherings of up to 100 people will be allowed in private homes and groups of up to 500 people can gather outdoors.

She also announced capacity limits for campsites will also be scraped.

Updated

Hotel lobby groups have scolded the government for failing to provide incentives for city based hotels in its package to support tourism after jobkeeper ends, warning “the lack of support in this package will result in a loss of jobs and slow our recovery once borders are open”.

The furious reaction from the Accommodation Association, that the package – focussed on half priced flights to regional tourist destinations – “leaves Sydney and Melbourne for dead” will be raised directly with the government, with its chief executive Dean Long vowing to make “urgent representations” to the Morrison government.

View of the Sydney Opera House from Sydney Harbour.
View of the Sydney Opera House from Sydney Harbour. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Long noted that while 80% of hotel guests in Sydney and Melbourne have traditionally been international tourists, as a result of the government’s ongoing international border closure, “our hotels in these two major international gateways currently have a forward booking rate of less than 10% for the next 90 days and desperately need immediate support.”

Long said:

Our workforce is highly skilled and the government has not provided the support for our skilled chefs, waiters, revenue managers and duty managers in the same way as they have for airlines. This means it will have a dramatic negative impact once international borders open and we don’t have the team members to provide the high service levels they demand.

Loans are only helpful when you have a level of certainty of revenue to service debts and a clear strategy to keep the economy open. Without this, Australia’s accommodation businesses can’t take on new debit even if banks are prepared to lend to them.

The Accommodation Association will be making urgent representations to the federal government for additional support to ensure our important Sydney and Melbourne accommodation sectors get the support so urgently needed.

You can read more about the government’s tourism support package here:

Updated

In Canberra, the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security has begun hearings into national security risks affecting the higher education sector – with Chinese talent recruitment programs being one of the main early focuses.

Readers may recall this inquiry was launched last year after a push by Coalition backbenchers who raised concerns China’s Thousand Talents Plan – a research collaboration program – may be “designed to harvest research and talent and intellectual property from other countries for the benefit of the Chinese government”, as Liberal MP Andrew Hastie said at the time.

The first witness at today’s hearings, Alex Joske, a former researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said talent recruitment programs raised serious national security concerns and the important thing was to ensure researchers were disclosing conflicts of interest. He called for “good management of conflicts of interest and risk”.

Among Joske’s recommendations is for the government to specifically prohibit participation by government employees in overseas talent recruitment programs, to send a “very important signal”.

He told the committee he was aware of at least one case of a CSIRO employee who joined a talent recruitment program, even though it seemed existing guidelines should have restricted that kind of activity

We shouldn’t be entirely banning talent recruitment programs ... the focus should be on ensuring transparency.

Joske said while the guidelines in the university foreign interference taskforce should be “country agnostic”, the government’s allocation of resources to study and respond to threats needed to be informed by information about “where the threat is emanating from”.

“That seems to be primarily from China,” he said, while saying the concerns may also include Russia, Iran and now Myanmar.

But I think if you take the country out of talent recruitment programs you’re missing what really makes them concerning because there are very unique features of how China carries out some of these activities, how it approaches engagement with our universities that I think the government needs to understand and our universities need to understand in order to manage those risks appropriately.

He said he had estimated up to $280m of Australian Research Council funding was going to individuals who were concurrently in talent recruitment programs in China.

Updated

I’m transfixed by this photo.

Partially by the thumbs up, but mostly because I can’t figure out why on earth you would make it so you can open the windows into the cockpit of a plane. That seems like it could only ever have bad results.

Victorian premier will miss next parliament week with a 'very serious injury' to the spine

Acting Victorian premier James Merlino is speaking now (from underground in one of the new metro tunnel construction sites I believe).

He says he will stand in for premier Daniel Andrews for at least the next sitting week of state parliament:

We will know more in the next couple of days in terms of Daniel’s treatment plan and whether he will require surgery. No decision has been made at the moment, but no surgery has been required at this stage.

He said it’s not yet known when Andrews will be back at work.

It will be some time, of course, this is a very serious injury that Dan sustained, both in terms of his ribs and particularly a fractured vertebrae. It will be some time. We won’t know until his treatment plan and a definitive decision is made on surgery.

Updated

A number of tourism industry leaders have criticised the government’s $1.2bn domestic travel stimulus package.

Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner told Nine this morning that the package will do little for the tourism industry.

It is a very small, very meagre package at best...

I don’t think this is going to help at all, really. It is about the borders. Keeping the domestic borders open and getting the international borders open as soon as possible.

Margy Osmond from the Tourism and Transport Forum has called for a wage subsidy scheme targeted at the sector alongside subsidised flight.

From accommodation providers and tourism operators through to transport companies, attraction operators, business event organisers and cultural organisations, many businesses are at the wall.

Prime minister Scott Morrison and deputy PM Michael McCormack during the aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport, 11 March 2021.
Prime minister Scott Morrison and deputy PM Michael McCormack during the aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport, 11 March 2021. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

Another triple doughnut day for Victoria, and tests into the 20,000s.

It looks like the tourism support package won’t be the end of the Queensland premier’s quest for a jobkeeper extension:

Previously the message from the federal government on this has been along the lines of – sorry, too bad mate, shouldn’t have kept the border shut for so long and your tourism workers probably wouldn’t still need jobkeeper.

Palaszczuk also wants the subsidised ticket scheme to cover intrastate travel.

Updated

Today’s Full Story podcast episode is essential listening with Laura Murphy-Oates breaking down what’s going on with the flood of teenage sexual assault stories that have emerged this week.

Have a listen wherever you get your podcast or on the link below:

Looks like the acting Victorian premier James Merlino will step up to the plate soon.

Hopefully, we will get a bit of an update on how premier Andrews is faring in hospital after fracturing his spine.

Inquiry launched into Victoria’s injured tourism and events sectors

Victoria will launch an inquiry into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Victoria’s tourism and events sectors.

The Legislative Council’s Economy and Infrastructure Committee will head the inquiry after tourism significantly declined during the last year of lockdowns and travel restriction.

A parliament spokesperson pointed to Victoria’s high country who relies on tourism for a third of the region’s employment. They said visitor numbers halved in 2020 for domestic and international visitors.

They also highlight tourism along the Murray, “which provides the largest number of jobs outside of Melbourne”, had an 80% drop in international tourism spending.

Committee chair Enver Erdogan released a statement this morning.

Domestic and international travel restrictions due to the global pandemic have hit our local economy hard.

The impact has been particularly significant in tourism dependent regions.

The inquiry will also cover the hard-hit events industry.

The events sector, including the arts, sports and business events, has suffered dramatic losses. Modelling has shown that in the City of Melbourne alone many jobs were lost in arts and recreation services with a large economic cost.

Updated

A woman has been charged with kidnapping a young boy in the NSW Riverina region, reports AAP.

The 12-year-old was last seen leaving a school in Culcairn about midday on Tuesday.

Following an Amber Alert, the boy was found safe and well around 10pm on Wednesday in Lake Macquarie.

A 36-year-old woman was arrested and taken to Belmont police station where she was charged with taking and detaining a person with intent to obtain an advantage.

She was refused bail to appear at Newcastle local court on Thursday.

Updated

Queensland won't guarantee borders will stay open despite federally subsidised flights

The Queensland state government seems happy with the federal support package for the tourism industry, which will provide 800,000 subsidised plane tickets to popular tourism destinations, but the state treasurer says the scheme should also be available for intrastate holidaymakers.

Currently, the half-price tickets will only be available for those crossing state lines, so for example a Brisbane resident would still have to pay full price to get to the Whitsundays.

View of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland.
View of the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland. Photograph: Sarah Lai/AFP/Getty Images

Treasurer Cameron Dick spoke to ABC radio this morning:

There are some dead set head-scratchers in this that seem bizarre – like why can’t Queenslanders be supported to travel to Queensland, why can’t they go to Cairns.

Queenslanders want to back Queensland, that’s why our economy is coming back and leading the pack nationally.

People want to go, in Brisbane and in the southeast, they want to go to Cairns but this scheme says no. Instead, we have to go to places like Launceston, or Merimbula.

He said the federal government had not consulted the state about the plan at all and he had “a theory” about why it chose some regional areas but not others.

The treasurer highlighted that NSW coastal town of Merimbula was in the Labor held federal seat of Eden-Monaro while Launceston was in the Liberal held Bass – both marginal electorates.

The support package is also reliant on states keeping borders open – something the federal government has been campaigning for months, but Dick wouldn’t commit to this.

No, we will act on the health advice ... that’s been consistent the position we’ve taken all along and of course, that was endorsed by the people of Queensland in the election last October.

Updated

The Australian Republican Movement will propose its model for an Australian republic in the second half of this year, with hopes for a referendum to be called within a year of the Queen stepping down from the throne.

The ARM revealed the plans after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive tell-all interview, which has reignited talk of Australia’s independence from the monarchy.

Sandy Biar, national director of the Australian Republican Movement, told Guardian Australia the group had been working on a model for an Australian republic that would attract strong bipartisan support.

What we’ve been doing in the last year is consulting and talking to parliamentarians and getting out in the community to understand public opinion.

You can read Justine Landis-Hanley’s full story below:

Updated

Covid fragments still in Adelaide wastewater

The South Australian health department say viral fragments have continued to be found in wastewater from northern Adelaide:

We do not believe the detection is from medi-hotels. Positive results could be due to people with historic cases shedding the virus.

Authorities urged all residents with even extremely mild symptoms to get tested last week but so far no new locally acquired cases have emerged.

Updated

Across large swathes of New South Wales the stark skeletons of once healthy eucalyptus trees dot the landscape in alarming numbers.

From the manna gums of the Monaro high plains to the snow gums of the Australian alps, the scale of eucalypt dieback is confronting and it has accelerated dramatically over the past decade.

Scientists know that in the case of the snow gums, the native wood borer is essentially eating trees from the top down...

But what they’re yet to fully grasp is why those insects have been able to take hold in such numbers and do so much damage, and what underlying stressors have left eucalyptus trees vulnerable to attack.

On Wednesday, the NSW government stumped up $1.2m for six research projects that should add more detail to the big picture.

You can read the full story below:

Updated

A detail I missed during the prime minister’s press conference before:

A group of prominent women in business and social sectors including Lucy Turnbull, Rosie Batty and ACTU president Michele O’Neil have written an open letter to prime minister Scott Morrison demanding the upcoming federal budget “make the lives of Australian women easier, not harder”.

The letter, which was also signed by the co-chair fo the Minderoo Foundation, Nicola Forrest; Fortescue Metals Group CEO Elizabeth Gaines; Noongar medical Prof Sandra Eades, Prof Marcia Langton, chef Stephanie Alexander, ABC chair Ita Buttrose, Grattan Institute CEO Danielle Wood, and Australian Council of Social Services CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie, was sent to Morrison this week.

It says:

While we have made some strides on gender equality over recent decades, we are still falling short for women in almost every workplace, including the Federal Parliament.

Australia’s post-pandemic economic recovery depends on finding ways to support and unlock economic growth and jobs. One way to do this is to unlock the productivity gains that come from increasing women’s workforce participation.

Lack of access to affordable childcare is a “major barrier” stopping women returning to work, they said.

It is time to recognise that investing in an accessible childcare and early learning system, with valued and well-supported educators, will return a triple dividend: it will improve early learning outcomes for Australian children, increase workforce participation for women, and have long-term productivity gains by contributing to a more skilled workforce.

We, the undersigned, are calling on you, Prime Minister, to ensure the upcoming Federal Budget makes the lives of Australian women easier, not harder.

Updated

PM says travel package is 'a shot in the arm' to tourism industry

Prime minister Scott Morrison is heralding this move as a “new phase” in Australia’s Covid-19 recovery:

Prime minister Scott Morrison during the aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport in Sydney, Thursday, 11 March 2021.
Prime minister Scott Morrison during the aviation and tourism package announcement at Sydney airport in Sydney, Thursday, 11 March 2021. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

As jobkeeper ends at the end of this month, together with the Covid supplement, we go into a new phase where we’ll see the economy continue to grow and continue to support jobs all around the country.

But in the aviation, in the travel, in the tourism sectors, we know it will continue to be tough, particularly in those parts of the country most reliant on international tourism.

And that’s why today we have brought together ... this package which gives a shot in the arm to the travel, tourism and the aviation sector.

800,000 tickets to ride for Australians to go out and ensure that they can experience this amazing country. That’s what this is about. To keep people in their jobs, we’ve gotta put planes in the air, and we’ve gotta put tourists on the ground.

Updated

And the press conference is starting now.

First up, the dulcet Irish lilt of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce:

This is great news for Australian aviation. This is great news for Australian tourism. This is great news for Qantas, but particularly for Qantas employees, who have suffered pretty badly over the last year.

Joyce seems particularly pleased about the assistance plan for the still grounded international crews and workers.

The two components that I think makes a big difference to us, first of all, is the 800,000 discounted tickets. That will stimulate demand, that will get people to go to the 13 destinations, the 13 regions, and it will cover 57 different routes on our network, to get them to travel at non-peak times...

I’m actually probably most pleased about is the assistance plan for the employees linked to international operation. That’s 7,500 of our employees.

We know international is some time off. It’s probably not gonna happen until the end of October when we have the full adult population vaccinated. But this program allows those people to stay connected with Qantas so we don’t lose them.

Joyce said he hopes to start 22 of the 25 regular international Qantas destinations and all 13 of the Jetstar’s by the end of October.

Updated

Ooooh, do I smell the faint sense of an ulterior motive this morning?

Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has confirmed that the new travel plan is reliant on state premiers keeping borders open.

Well, the onus is then on premiers not to make those knee-jerk, hasty decisions at a moment’s notice to have snap border closures.

And as the vaccine rolls out, and as jobkeeper comes off, and, of course, so many people are going to be getting back to work, we need to make sure that those premiers keep those borders open. We can’t have them just close the borders at a small community transmission outbreak.

You know, we need to get on with it. We’ll take the best possible medical advice, but as Brendan Murphy has said too, we need to be able to learn to live with this, we need to be able to get that vaccine rolling out, as that extends right throughout the nation, we need to get back to some sort of pre-Covid normality.

Updated

Speaking of the deputy prime minister, (and minister for transport, regional development and infrastructure) Michael McCormack has just spoken with ABC news breakfast.

McCormack was asked if travel agents and other travel industry workers would miss out:

They benefit too, because there’s a $132m package in addition to the $128m that we’d already had on the table for those travel agents.

And I know the Federation of Travel Agents are delighted with this package, because that is going to support them.

There’s 40,000 people who work as travel agents, 80% of whom, Lisa, are women. And so we’ve backed them too and we’ll continue to do so.

Updated

We are expecting to hear from the prime minister and the deputy prime minister shortly. They are at Syndey airport to launch this new travel package.

No 'immediate' surgery plans for Daniel Andrews

Last night Victorian premier Daniel Andrews released this statement from the Alfred hospital where he is currently being treated for a fractured spine.

Andrews slipped and fell on wet steps outside the Mornington Peninsula home he was a holiday at with his family over the long weekend.

While there are no “immediate” plans for surgery he could still undergo a procedure in the coming days and will be off work for more than a month regardless.

Associate Professor Steve McGloughlin, the head of the intensive care unit at The Alfred hospital where Andrews is currently a patient, said the premier was “comfortable and his pain is well-controlled”.

A multidisciplinary team including intensive care, trauma and orthopaedic specialists has developed a treatment plan, together with the Andrews family.

Mr Andrews has sustained some serious injuries, and his condition is being monitored closely.

Updated

Key crossbench senator Rex Patrick has warned Scott Morrison the Christian Porter saga will become an “albatross around his government’s neck” unless action is taken.

Morrison has so far resisted calls for an independent inquiry into historical rape allegations levelled against the attorney general, saying NSW police have declared the case closed and Porter is an “innocent man under our law”.

But independent senator Rex Patrick currently holds a crucial vote on the government’s industrial laws says it is “impossible” to make progress until Porter returns from stress leave.

He told ABC:

Asking Michaelia Cash to step in and do the negotiations where Christian Porter has had significant involvement in this negotiation from the get go is unreasonable.

Patrick seems unconvinced with the prime minister’s line that there is nothing left to investigate and the “rule of law” has run its course.

That may suit him politically, but he is a little bit naive in that this will become an albatross around his government’s neck if he does not act...

[Porter] has to have his name cleared so that he enjoys the trust of government and indeed the trust of the Australian public.

Updated

So I know you are all desperate to hear which Aussie tourism destinations will be included in this half-price flight package, and who am I to deny you.

Currently, the locations include:

Queensland: the Gold Coast, Cairns, the Whitsundays and Mackay region including Proserpine and Hamilton Island, and the Sunshine Coast.

NT: Lasseter and Alice Springs.

Tasmania: Launceston, Devonport and Burnie.

WA: Broome.

Victoria: Avalon.

NSW: Merimbula.

SA: Kangaroo Island.

It’s worth noting that some in the hotel and tourism industry have already come out to criticise the scheme for targeting areas that are already expected to have a healthy tourism season over the Easter and winter holidays while operators in large cities miss out.

Updated

Good morning, Matilda Boseley here to bring you all the important updates this Thursday.

I’m not going to lie to you though, today I’m going to have the blog open in one tab and a bunch of airline websites open in the others because according to the government, it’s holiday time!

That’s right, we finally have some clarity on what the ongoing federal government support packages for the tourism industry will look like, and the name of the game seems to be half price flights.

Today the Morrison government will unveil their $1.2 billion tourism and aviation rescue package where an estimated 800,000 government-subsidised airline tickets will be offered.

There will be a 50 per cent discount to 12 initial popular holiday locations between April 1 and July 31.

Now I’ll bring you more on this as the morning goes but here are some other things to look out for:

  • Doctors are yet to decide whether Victorian premier Daniel Andrews will need surgery on his fractured spine. Late last night a spokeswoman from the premier’s office confirmed there was no “immediate” need for spinal surgery, despite a fracture of the T7 vertebrae in the middle of his spine and cracked ribs. Surgery or not Andrews is expected to be out of action for more than a month.
  • The Queensland parliament has passed legislation to ban single-use plastic straws, stirrers, cutlery and plates along with polystyrene foam food containers and cups from September 1.
  • A Melbourne truck driver allegedly involved in the fatal Eastern Freeway crash that killed four Victoria Police officers last year is set to face court today. Yesterday Porsche driver Richard Pusey, who’s car was being impounded when the crash occurred pleaded guilty to outraging public decency after filming one of the police officers as they died.

If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.

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